REVIEW: Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong 2 #2

The Justice League heads to Skull Island to meet an old ally in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #2. It would also seem that the more beast-like characters of DC becoming super-sized Titans is becoming a recurring trend in this series. At the same time, the dirty politics of the Suicide Squad continue.

Christian Duce presents the main matchup of this issue – Kong vs. Titan Killer Croc. We’re headed out of the grey and silver cityscapes of the DC Universe and into the swamp, green land out of time Skull Island. This is more of a Suicide Squad-focused issue, which uses a roster that is a combination of the 2016 movie, the 2021 movie, and The New 52 – all unique and decent team compositions.

Alan Quah’s variant cover is major in the set because it’s one of two that actually feature a Justice Leaguer – in both cases, it’s Wonder Woman. She teams with the Suicide Squad as Skull Island’s Skullcrawlers swarm them. Giganta fighting Tiamat from The New Empire and Rodan from King of The Monsters are the major selling point of this issue – and clues us in on how far the Monsterverse will go with this crossover.

Kevin Maguire’s variant is all about what makes crossovers great – a piece featuring two timeless characters from different works of fiction. Wonder Woman and King Kong would be a cool story idea with both coming from lost islands, competing themes of beauty and beast, and ancient royalty. Giant monsters being surprised by the strength of superheroes is also always charming. Maguire’s artist signature seems to be bold hair textures, which is very charming.

Other Suicide Squad-centric variant covers are also available from Yasmine Putri and Lucas Meyer.

There’s no sugar coating it – Amanda Waller is dead and she’s not coming back like Superman did in the previous story. Leland Lafayette Shaw III (who may be related to the character of Lee Shaw from the Monsterverse) did it and is now commandeering Task Force X. It would seem that his mission is to stop the Titan incursions by any means. He also agreed with Waller that superheroes could be just as if not more dangerous. The Suicide Squad, with Lex Luthor as a member, set off for Skull Island where the Justice League had been sent after encountering Godzilla again.

The Justice League encounters Kong, but he does not recognize them from last time defeating Luthor’s Mechagodzilla – even Supergirl. He goes on the attack, but another threat shows up, so Kong does what he does best. The League finds out that the treat emitted similar radiation to Godzilla. Meanwhile, Harley Quinn has gone missing and Supergirl continues to get through to Kong. Superman also heads to Hollow Earth to look for Lex Luthor as the road forward remains highly questionable.

Brian Buccellato unwinds with an action-packed issue on Skull Island as opposed to any real, new developments until the last couple of pages. A fun series trend is born with a Titan-sized DC character in each issue as well as the non-canonical truth that anyone can be taken out like Amanda Waller. It’s good to also see him further branching into the Monsterverse with Leland Lafayette Shaw – an antagonist take on the Lee Shaw character from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. How much it connects remains to be seen. Letters are by Tyler Smith.

Christian Duce is a pleasant mix of Clayton Henry and Gary Frank in terms of art style. Batman gets a cool mini-mech to better stand up against Titans with his fellow heroes and Killer Croc could pull off Doomsday spikes if he tried. Towards the end, he gets come awesome Superman and Lex Luthor panels set in the Hollow Earth. A Monsterverse easter egg would also be the flying vehicle from Godzilla vs. Kong being used by the Suicide Squad. Colors are by Luis Guerrero.

(7/10) Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #2 will keep the reader entertained throughout with a great Kong battle and a clash of DC characters but doesn’t pay out in terms of advancement until the very end.